The Video Store

So, two homework assignments this week include DVDs to watch. 'Citizen Kane' and, believe it or not, 'Paycheck.'

Although I'm thinking right now my instructor was acting in 'Paycheck' so I wouldn't be surprised if that's why it was one of the picks...

So, it was off to Blockbuster with coupon in hand to pick up these 2 DVDs, but I couldn't find Citizen Kane anywhere. Wasn't in Drama. It wasn't in Family. It's not a comedy, so it better not be there --and it wasn'r. So where is it? It also better not be on their top sellers list where they can charge $5 for a rental. Nope, not there either.

So, I grab "Mr. Knowledge" from an aisle and ask him where they're hiding it. "I don't think we have it," he replies. "I've heard of it," he continues.

My jaw's already dropping to the floor by this point.

OK, if you're not aware of it, Citizen Kane is the most influential movie in history. Understand that? Not just an influential movie, but the most influential movie. EVER.

If you've seen it once, go out and get the DVD ASAP. Why? Because you missed a few things. You may have thought, "all right, it was an okay movie, but what makes it influential?" Get the DVD. Roger Ebert does a commentary track on the DVD. Ebert is basically the world authority on Citizen Kane and has even written a book about the film. Watch the film, then watch it again with Ebert's commentary and see how many times you go "Ooohhh. I didn't notice that!!" Anyway, cool movie. Great story. Unbelievably genius choreography.

And friggin' Blockbuster doesn't carry it.

Fortunately, they had 6 copies of Paycheck available.

Like A Movie

I've been inundated with homework, so my posts have kind of gone by the wayside for now.

Sorry.

Part of my homework has included watching movies (yeah, on purpose!). This week alone, I've watched 'The Last Man,' 'Man on Fire,' 'The Good Girl,' 'The Ring,' 'Collateral,' 'Citizen Kane,' and 'Assault on Precinct 13.'

I'll wirte a little something about each of these.... later.

Ironic

Get this: I have a writing assignment due in 10 hours. It's 2000 words long and I'm really stuck on it. It's about writing.

And I can't think of a thing to write.

It's based on a book called 'Story' by Robert McKee and we're basically looking at 8 points about 'Story' McKee claims:

1. Story is about principles, not rules.
2. Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.
3. Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.
4. Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts.
5. Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing.
6. Story is about mastering the art, not second-guessing the marketplace.
7. Story is about respect, not disdain, for the audience.
8. Story is about originality, not duplication.

What is a rule compared to a principle? A rule is a generalized course of action whereas a principle is a basic truth. Rules in a story can draw you away from the basics, what you NEED in order to make the story work. Just because the rules of a story, or plot, exist does not mean that they have to be followed exactly. The basics are there, and they are there to be played with and worked to the advantage of the story. Rules make the structure, but following the principles allow the writer to let the story evolve without always following the structure the reader is accustomed to. Perhaps the main conflict occurs at the beginning of a story and it is followed up with the back story explaining to the reader how the conflict came about. Therefore, the principles still make use of the rules, but not in the easily recognized format. It is the same thing with the protagonist. The big assumption is that the protagonist is the 'hero' of the story and therefore someone the reader should look up to. His goals are the goals of every reader and that is how the protagonist becomes likeable. But if a protagonist has desires and an object of desire, could this not be construed as greed? Could that be seen in a villain, in someone the reader cannot empathize with? A villain then becomes a protagonist and they become empathized with and therefore alter the way the reader views his character.

Instead of following the basic formula for a plot, it is completely plausible to alter it in such a way to still have the plot flow but in a non-linear way. Again, the conflict doesn't necessarily have to be resolved at the end of the story, but could bring in the setting of the story. It is an opportunity to mix things up as it were and find a new method to intrigue the reader. If done properly, it can be quite engaging. If not, then the reader will be completely lost. I think 'Usual Suspects' is a good example of getting away from the formulaic style of a "murder mystery" but at the same time still flows through the basic plot outline. In the manner brought forward in this film, while the audience finally believes everything has come to a logical conclusion, everything is turned upside down again as the "killer" is revealed all over again. A formula means that everything becomes predictable and typical. The formula can bore the reader unless the writer finds a way to engage the reader in something different. Finding the core forms in the formula and adding them in an altered method can bring the reader in to discover the story as it continues.

Archetypes are the original design and stereotypes are simple copies of what’s happened before. So, the focus of any story is to be original. Why do what’s been done before? If you give the reader something new to think about, they’ll be much more engaged in the story than if it’s something similar to what they’ve read, heard, or seen before. The most important thing in a story is offering something new. Something that hasn’t been done before be that through the characters, the plot, or even in the style it’s been written. To give anyone anything else is cheating them out of a new experience. The stereotype over simplifies the design and can draw the audience away from the story. Again, if the story becomes predictable, than it does not entertain nor engage and loses everything in the process. The key to originality in an archetype can inherit itself from previous patterns, but the method in which the patterns are constructed can still make it original. Superman and Batman can be seen as the archetypal super-heroes, but even Superman was modelled after Samson. Batman, in a fashion, was modelled after Sherlock Holmes.

Thoroughness is another method of engaging the reader and assisting in the suspension of disbelief. Taking shortcuts cheats the reader out of the experience. Taking for instance a scene where Detective Jones walks into a murder scene. He could just walk into a room and see the body and the reader would get that. But with no tone, no mood or environment , the reader misses another level to the story. 'Detective Jones walked slowly through the doorway, the room reeked of death and Jones shuddered as he saw the blood covering the walls.' The reader can feel the shudder and could feel it even more with more of an in-depth approach. To be more thorough also allows the writer to bring about another level to the character that the reader may not have seen before. Detective Jones "shuddering" at the murder could be delved into further if it reminded him of his first murder call back when he was rookie on the force. More depth to the character then begins and events of the past then emotionally draw the reader in.

The realities of writing are the characters, the plot, the setting, and the conflict. All stories have them, but the approach different stories take are what make them unique. It would be difficult to have a story without a setting. Where would the story take place? To not have characters means there's no opportunity for conflict or real emotion on the part of the audience. Granted, a documentary can be seen as a story, but even a documentary on a country cannot help but let the audience understand the people who live there. Conflict brings about the emotion of the story and allows the audience to empathize with the characters. To relate to them on a more meaningful level. To not have conflict means there's no level of emotion for the audience to be drawn into the story.

Originality is of the utmost importance in a story. Even if it's a story type that's similar to something done once before, it could be the timing that makes it fresh and original. A film like 'Gladiator' is in no way an original movie, but it brought about a whole series of "medieval-style" films that have not been nearly as successful as the first. "Alexander," "King Arthur," and "Troy" have all failed to bring about the same emotion in the audience. It was because of the asuccess of 'Gladiator' that all the other movies tried to grab the same audience. Along the same lines, zombie films have really picked up after the success of '28 Days Later.' Most of the following zombie films also failed in their own way with the exception of 'Shaun of the Dead' which took the zombie genre and asked 'what would happen if no one noticed?' Just because something isn't popular at the moment does not mean that it's not the right time to tell the story. In it's own way, it becomes unique and therefore original.

'Respect your audience' has to be one of the most important rules of storytelling. I think of insulting one's intelligence when it comes to the story. It would be the simplification of a story that insults my intelligence. It's the taking of an idea and dragging it out into convenient plot devices that would insult me too. It's the originality of a story that engages the reader and therefore shows a level of respect in allowing the reader to gain interest. Writing is something that most people do for themselves and why would anyone want to show disdain for themselves? Yes it happens, but it may be a way to pull the readers into the emotions that the writer is dealing with and engages the audience to see the story through. In that way, it's giving a level of respect to understand what the writer is going through.

I'm going back to the "Shaun of the Dead" example here because it's a great example of taking an idea that (no pun intended) was being done to death in zombie movies. But by adding a comedic level to it and allowing the audience to see that Shaun truly felt he was having a bad day before he even realized that zombies were running amok and following him down the street. Duplicating stories that have occurred before cheats the reader out of a new experience. It's the same reason why so many sequels fail to live up to the original film. Ironically, it's the reason why sequels are made in the first place. The first movie is original, engaging, and popular enough to continually bring in an audience. The next movie is more of the same and not necessarily in a good way. It's a rehashing of the same idea. This can become even more of a ripoff to the audience if it seems the characters failed to learn from one story to another. The fourth 'Jaws' film comes to mind. The wife of one of the characters of the first film hears of shark attacks in the area and decides to leave the area --by boat. Sure, it sets up the story for even more shark attacks, but the originality is gone and the film insults the audience as the main character apparently learned nothing about sharks from the first few films. A movie like "Scream" becomes original because all the characters understand the horror movie stereotypes and mocks them throughout the film. They still die, one-by-one, but the characters acknowledge that they know enough not to get into the typical situations that gets people killed in horror movies. All it takes is a 'spin' on something that has been done before that can make a story original.

Oh, hey, look at that. I did it.

Oops!

I've discovered another one of my uncanny abilities:

eMail faux-pas.

An eMail faux pas is a comment in an email message that after sending it and receiving a repsonse makes you go:

Oops.

I know I sent a few at work and one of those my boss (one of the ones I liked) called me an idiot for sending it.

Historically, these faux pas have included:

ME: Hey woman, How ya doing? Haven't heard from yu in a while so thought I'd email ya and see what's up? Still married? ;-)
REPLY: Hey back. Nope we seperated right after Christmas.

ME: Hey, glad to hear everything worked out for you two the weekend! I'm surprised he'd be interested in that! You'll be the death of him yet, right? ;-)
(corporate) REPLY: It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our colleague...

And the latest...
ME: What? you're in California? Bitch.
REPLY: Well, my stepdad died on Friday and I'm taking care of my Mom with Alzheimers. Want to trade?

Y'know....

Sometimes it's a good idea to crawl under that blanket and stay for a while.

Long Line of Cars

Despite giving myself a 2-hour "cushion" for the morning commute, I was actually late this morning. I guess it was just one of those mornings when no one felt like going to work and just wanted to sit on the freeway all freakin' day.

Seriously, one stretch not more than 3 miles long took 30 minutes. There are 2 lights on this "bypass." Insane.

The good news is, after getting my uber-marks back on the assignments, I discovered the guy sitting at the next desk is from my hometown, so I immediately spoke of the benefits of carpooling. He's been taking the train in everyday (which is $6 each way) and has missed his stop twice because he fell asleep. I told him if he gives me $5 a day I'll gladly drive him in!

Whoo-hoo! HOV lane, here I come!!

Pipe Dreams

I'm not good with handyman stuff.

2 lawnmower fires and one lost lawnmower wheel, damaged nose cartiladge (from chopping wood), and a nasty gash on my forehead (washing the car) attest to that.

Remember the broken toilet?

I finally got around to replacing it today (we have 2 others so not as devastating as you think) and althought it tooks a few hours (and a nice slice on my right thumb), the toilet is officially bolted to the floor with tank in place!!

No water.

Apparently, the previous toilet's piping is about 4 inches further away from the wall than the current configuration. So that means I have to figure out if this is a job I can do or if it's time to call in an expert.

Guess which way I'm leaning?

All I Left Behind

I can't remember if/when I last talked about this, but I'm really looking at another spring cleanup to get rid of the numerous crap in the house.

Okay, crap isn't the best word for it because we got this stuff for one reason or another.
[I'm being distracted right now by my daughter who has somehow found at least 200 questions about pierced navels. Send help.]

So, back to stuff. I'm trying in vain to get my wife to go through the videos we have (there's about 300) and put all the ones she wants keep on a shelf. One shelf. It should be enough. She's barely watched any of the movies we do have and never seems interested in watching them at any point in the future. With me working on the computer seemingly 20 hours a day, it's easier for me to watch any I'm interested in over the computer either through the DVD drive or just a downloaded copy (I have Assault on Precinct 13 just waiting to be watched).
[OK, I've completely failed as a father. My daughter's in tears now because she tried to put her happy face ring in her belly button and freaked out when I said people don't wear such big rings there because piercing a hole that big would really hurt and probably make you sick with infection.]

Sigh.

So, I can see no reason to have maybe a dozen or two videos on the shelves. My daughter have a bunch because she at least gets to watch hers. Most of mine aren't "kid friendly" which means the only appropriate time to watch them is when the kids are asleep (and that's when things like this don't get inerrupted by a little girl wanting to know about navel piercings). So, why keep any of my videos?

CDs are keepers. I think I got rid of any I no longer wanted years ago and although there's still a few I'd get rid of, my wife seems to think they're less obtrusive in the house.

I'm still looking at how to get rid of the comics quickly and efficiently and of course, eBay knows my schedule and only plans cheap-listing days when I have no feasible way of listing all the crap that could just GO. My original goal was to get a minimum of 50 items a day ready for one of these super-cheap listing days, but with school commitments being what they are, it hasn't happened quite yet. I hated missing that 1-cent listing day as I would've/could've spent the entire 24 hours listing items to sell and sell cheap just to get rid of them!! Selling with a cost of 1-cent as opposed to 30-cents? HUGE difference.

I'm motivated to start scanning right now --If only I could get my daughter to stop bugging me about belly button rings...

The Meetings

If my life weren't filled with "due dates" right now, then at least it's filled with meetings. It's hard to believe I'm "unemployed" with the vast number of meetings I'm heading into and around right now.

I had 4 meetings last week: Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, Wednesday night, Thursday night (which went for 4.5 hours!!).
This week, and it's only Tuesday, I've had 2 meetings: Monday night and Tuesday night. 2 more tomorrow and then *hopefully* no more until next Tuesday when the nasty cycle starts all over again!

It's complicated.

Tell Tale Signs

I'm a firm believer that if God wants me to move in a certain direction, then there'll be signs for me to help point me in that direction.

Last week, I was having trouble reading those signs.

Getting the "NO"s I was getting in trying to get financial support for school really told me that the signs all said: "Go a another way. This isn't the road for you."

But then, signs started to show stating that I was on the right path --and maybe it was just a little more faith that got me going in the direction I'd been facing. I know, it sounds alittle obscure and might not make much sense, but bear with me:

1. My student loan came through in 48 hours when they usually take 4-6 weeks.
2. I was awarded a grant that the school will sign over to me if I'm in any financial difficulty next week.
3. I've still applied for various jobs to prove to the government that I'm not giving up the job search just to go to school, but willing to work AND go to school at the same time!
4. This one was the big sign: I got an email from a guy wanting me to end one of my eBay auctions early and just sell it to him outright. He even offered a fairly reasonable price. He asked about picking the items up as he's (somewhat) local (lives/works in Vancouver). I told him meeting near my school was basically a halfway point for the both of us and I'd be happy to do that. He thanked me and promptly said he could throw in a few other items to make it even more worth my while... because he works for a local video game company. The same one I submitted 2 resumes to earlier this week and was one of the reasons I opted to take the art program I'm taking at school!

How's that for signs?

All Kinds of Time

My wife & I are having our traditional argument over "time" again. I'm a night-owl and a 2:30am bed-time is not out of the question most nights. Granted, that's changing a bit with me back at school, but with Wednesday's and Thursday's free, I'm spending my late nights getting the "work" that I can't do on Monday/Tuesday & Friday/Saturday done when I have... TIME.

But you come to a day like to day where I get woken up and eat breakfast. I wait for my wife to shower (my son's abandonment issues are so bad that I have to distract him with Hot Wheels while she showers). I then shower myself and head downstairs. Last night (or this morning) I promised to come to bed a little earlier to catch up on sleep --acknowledging I could finish up the last "bit" of work on Thursday morning. It's almost 11 on Thursday morning now and I'm on the old ratchedy computer upstairs, not with my work on the computer in my office downstairs!! And my wife has gone grocery shopping while I (type and) watch my kids... and of course deal with the multitude of interruptions that comes with kids.

This afternoon, I have a few things to mail out, but instead of my usual "hour" of mail-outs, it's now going to be 2-2 1/2 hours as I'm now mailing anything US bound from Washington state. Why? 2 of 6 packages (so far anyway) sent to the US a few weeks back have been returned as empty packages, contents missing. The only commonality between the packages is the point of origin for shipping as one was headed to Colorado and the other to Florida. And I'm out $40 because these books have vanished! So, TIME to start sending them more secure, through the US postal service!!

So, let's say 2 1/2 hours for mailing, I figure another 90 minutes or so on the computer, I have to pick up my daughter from pre-school in 4 1/2 hours. That leaves me 30 minutes' more TIME this morning.

As long as I get my daughter ready for pre-school RIGHT NOW!!!

I just need more time!

I Lost It

So, I'm going to try and stick with my rule about not watching another episode of Amazing Race until Rob & Amber are gonzo.

Man, I hope it's next week!

But since we've had tapes in the VCR all week, I never realized the clock hadn't changed with Daylight Savings.

Crap.

So, I managed to tape the last 2 minutes of 'Lost.'

Double-crap!

I know how it ends...

Listen to the Pope

I'm not Catholic. Let me get that out of the way right away.

In fact, I'm so not Catholic in my upbringing, some would even say I'm anti-Catholic. I just say I'm 'not.' My family is definitely anti-Catholic, though. My grandfather was an Orangeman. I think that sums it up, pretty well.

To me, though, the death of Pope John Paul II is a sad day for the world. This man worked tirelessly to help those in need, no matter which corner of the world they were in.

Yes, people can criticize his views on safe sex/contraception, abortion, and divorce, but he worked for people, regardless of their faith. He even visited the imprisoned man who tried to kill him.

I've studied a great deal about the Papacy and it is quite easy to say he was one of the greatest popes in history.

I'll miss him.